Disney-Sony talks on Spider-Man ends in fallout, re-negotiations still possible

Talks between Marvel’s parent company, Disney, and Sony Pictures have resulted in the Spider-Man character leaving the creative control of Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige. This was confirmed in a statement to Comicbook.com just a few hours after Deadline broke the news of the souring negotiations.

“Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney’s decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film. We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him – including all their newly added Marvel properties – do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own. Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue.”

Though the statement confirms Kevin Feige’s exit as Executive Producer for future Spider-Man films, Sony is still leaving the door open for further talks down the road.

According to Deadline, after revisiting the deal between Disney and Sony, the former proposed a 50-50 co-funding agreement in all Spider-Man properties moving forward. This included all the Spider-verse movies in Sony’s slate like Venom and Mobius. However, Sony turned the offer down, and instead approached with alternative proposals, but the House of Mouse did not budge as well. Disney wasn’t also keen on retaining the current conditions of the contract, which was Marvel receiving only 5% of the first dollar gross, thus leaving things in a standoff.

Revisiting the deal may be a result of Spider-Man: Far From Home’s massive worldwide box office numbers, soaring at a whopping USD1.1 billion. It is also rumored that Spider-Man star, Tom Holland, is still contractually obligated to reprise his role as Peter Parker for two more movies in the MCU slate.

Sources say that the negotiations have been coming back and forth for months now, especially after the MCU has just exited Phase 3. The future of Spider-Man in the MCU was already rumored to be in flux after the Phase 4 slate was revealed in San Diego Comic-Con, with no mention of the Web-Slinger anywhere.

The recent fallout has fans and celebrities alike in an uproar. The likes of Kevin Smith, Shang-Chi’s Simu Liu, and Jeremy Renner have already reacted to the break down.